Local Musicians Join Unicorn Media Revolution

Tempe, Ariz. and Laguna Beach, Calif. (MobilityWire) May 1, 2008 – Unicorn Media (www.UnicornMedia.com), the ground breaking entertainment Website where people can find professionally produced, high-quality music and video, all enjoyed for free, announced today that music duo Kit Smith and Tanya Livingstone will release their new album, “The Hardest Part,” on Unicorn Media (www.unicornmedia.com/kitandtanya). Smith and Livingstone’s previous album, “Central Connection,” is also available at UnicornMedia.com.

Described as a mix between pop, Americana, and folk, Smith and Livingstone’s new album explores their feelings about surviving in our current political times as well as dealing with the aftermath of divorce, balanced out by a few light-hearted, feel-good love songs.

Independent artists like Smith and Livingstone are increasingly turning to ‘new media’ sites like Unicorn Media in an effort to build a grassroots following for their music; leveraging the massive reach of the Internet to expand their audience beyond the fans the musicians can interact with on tour.

By joining the Unicorn Media stable of musicians, Smith and Livingstone believe they are opening the doors to a much broader audience then they could possibly reach on their own. The duo also sees a great deal of value in having another avenue to distribute music to their fans, beyond selling CDs.

“As musicians, we are relying less on the traditional music model of finding a label, getting signed, then giving up all our rights to our hard-earned work,” says singer songwriter Kit Smith. “Unicorn Media allows us to connect directly with our fans and make new ones, and then let’s our fans support our work just by listening to our music on the site.”

Unicorn Media is unique within the group of Internet based digital entertainment sites in its value proposition to artists. Recognizing musicians struggle to not only build a fan base but also to profit from their work without ‘selling out’, Unicorn Media offers artists a worldwide distribution platform supported by a business model that pays them fairly for their work while letting them retain full rights to their own content.

More and more popular artists, such as Nine Inch Nails (www.nin.com), Prince (www.prince.org), and Radiohead (www.radiohead.com), are self-releasing their work directly to their fans, eschewing traditional media distribution models.

“For many musicians, it has been an age-old struggle to gain an audience, be discovered and make it big,” said Tim Morse, Director of Artist Relations for Unicorn Media. “Getting the big break has always been at the hands of someone else. With Unicorn Media the playing field is leveled. If you have talent and people are listening to your music on our site, you will be rewarded.”

The Unicorn Media service encourages interaction between musicians and their fans, with social networking tools and fan pages. Similar in nature to the ‘living room’ concerts artists like Smith and Livingstone are using to connect with fans in a more intimate environment, the fan sites on Unicorn Media allow artists to chat with their fans one-to-one and communicate with them in a more personal way.

“We really enjoy doing ‘living room’ concerts where we play for a select group of fans in someone’s living room,” says Tanya Livingstone. “In fact, we are having our CD release concert at a house in Laguna Niguel, Calif. We see it as a unique way to reach out to our fans and cut out the middleman and think it fits perfectly with Unicorn Media’s vision and efforts to connect artists with their fans in a genuine and personal environment.”

Smith and Livingstone will be playing outdoor festivals in the San Francisco Bay Area this summer in addition to performing in living room concerts up and down the West Coast.